Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

Hi all,

Any good tips or last minute advice for fishing cables. I have a phone line and a CAT 5 cable that need to be fished up 3 feet, through a notch on the top plate then about 20 feet horizontally through the ceiling. I have 100' of fish tape. Notch is large enough to fit the cables.... if I can get through it with the fish tape. Any tips?

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Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

Get two helpers. Your really will not need the fish tape if you are able to pull down from above. Just when you make the wire bundle, go about 4" from the end of the first wire, then tape the 2nd, then same for the 3rd, so that it will be easier to pull.

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Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregzoll

Get two helpers. Your really will not need the fish tape if you are able to pull down from above. Just when you make the wire bundle, go about 4" from the end of the first wire, then tape the 2nd, then same for the 3rd, so that it will be easier to pull.

Only have the CAT 5 and a phone line, having the 4" seperation sounds like a good idea, I'll try that.

Can't go down though.... Ceiling is enclosed in sheetrock. I need to get the line from a current outlet box (for phone line, no power) on the east wall..... UP 3 feet.... through a notched 2x4 then west through the ceiling about 20' to the laundry room. Laundry room ceiling is open, beams are running in same direction as I need to fish, so it's through a cavity.

I just hate fishing wire! I have so much respect for the electrical pros that have to fish regularly.

Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

I usually put a light in the area (hole) that I am fishing towards
That way I can see the hole I need to hit
I put 10' PVC between my basement & 2nd floor to eliminate fishing for CAT5e/cable & phone - needed several runs

Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

What you may have to do then, is cut a couple of holes in the ceiling to help pull, then patch once done. If you have the Popcorn on the ceilings, you can get texture in a can to replace when done patching. Also, since you are pulling Cat-5 & telco (cat 5 preferably), pull total of two Cat for networking.

Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

If it's not too late, I would do cat6 instead, if you're going to run wire.

If it's dedicated for phone and you have zero plans to add network drops then you'll be ok, but since cat6 is not that much more expensive I'd personally go with that for futureproofing.

Thanks for the assistance everyone! The phone line is for directv just haven't had one on it before, the Cat 5 was free.... 50' and my son wants it run to the XBox. I figured it's a good time to run both, the systems are side by side. I'm fishing in about an hour, I'll let you know how it went.

Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

Quote:

Originally Posted by gregzoll

Actually for home use, Cat-6 is over kill. Cat-5e can handle up to 10gbs networking.

Greg,
I am considering hardwiring a network in my house. I asked at the big box about cat5 and they told me they had two types. One was much more expensive due to the material used in the conductors. Is this what they mean by cat6? Whats your opinion of wireless vs hardwired? My router is not a wireless router but I can get a good wireless router for around $50.00.
I know you are very good on this stuff. Appreciate any suggestions.....John

Ps.....I ran some cat5 at work a couple times. It was blue in color. I did not order it. Does color signify anything?

Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

Quote:

Originally Posted by J. V.

Greg,
I am considering hardwiring a network in my house. I asked at the big box about cat5 and they told me they had two types. One was much more expensive due to the material used in the conductors. Is this what they mean by cat6? Whats your opinion of wireless vs hardwired? My router is not a wireless router but I can get a good wireless router for around $50.00.
I know you are very good on this stuff. Appreciate any suggestions.....John

Ps.....I ran some cat5 at work a couple times. It was blue in color. I did not order it. Does color signify anything?

The apron wearer was probably comparing riser to plenum. Cat 6 runs about 40-50% more than 5e in bulk. Colors vary between manufacturers. Yes, you can get a good router for $50, but you can get a much better one for around $80(wireless-n/gigabit switch).
Here you go... any color you want.http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10234

different color is particularly useful when running multiple services or machines. you can run green cable to the first floor, yellow to the second - or green to your pc, red to the xbox, blue to your wife's etc. it is simply an easy way to know at a glance what things are, especially if you have hundreds of cables coming into a server / switch room. they also look a little nicer than the standard putty color

if you are setting up a network i in your house i personally would set up a media server, wireless router and a minimum of a 10Gb switch 16 port switch. it's not hard to run wires (put them in conduit or pvc) and you can then have a wired connection in every room if you want. if you buy a 100gb switch you can move files internally or watch movies with zero delay / lag other than what is inherent to the system doing the processing. a good router can be gotten anywhere between $50 and $100 depending on brand / features and switch pricing is similar, if not less. newwegg and tigerdirect are awesome for buying various parts like that. if you have one near by Fry's or MicroCenter are also good bets - much better than Best Buy imo.

Fishing Cat 5 tomorrow

Quote:

Originally Posted by PTP WX

Thanks for the assistance everyone! The phone line is for directv just haven't had one on it before, the Cat 5 was free.... 50' and my son wants it run to the XBox. I figured it's a good time to run both, the systems are side by side. I'm fishing in about an hour, I'll let you know how it went.

Got all the cable run.... took 1.5 hours and had to cut two holes in the ceiling to fish properly. Thanks for the help I am happy it's done!